Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category

Given that we make about 5000 pounds of Canterbury soft goat cheese a year here at Edgwick Farm, we always have some on hand and it is our go-to cheese for quick appetizers. This recipe for baked goat cheese is a stand-by in our kitchen and we can promise you, it will be consumed quickly!

Canterbury soft goat cheese is truly a versatile cheese. Just putting out a medallion of unadorned soft goat cheese with some crackers is usually enough to make everyone happy. However, why stop there when with a little effort you can create something truly memorable. Baking it with some goodies on top from your well-stocked pantry kicks it up a notch. The great thing about this dish is that it can be prepared quickly and with only a moment’s notice. So take some advice from us at Edgwick Farm: keep a little Canterbury soft goat cheese on hand and along with a few other staples like olives, artichoke hearts, and capers you will be good to go.

Our ‘go-to’ basic baked goat cheese consists of olives, artichoke hearts, capers, and garlic, but the sky is the limit when coming up with other flavor combinations. Look at what bits of this and that are left in your refrigerator and get creative! Almost anything would be good baked on top of some soft goat cheese!

Baked Canterbury Soft Goat Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

8 ounces of Canterbury Soft Goat Cheese

1/3 cup mixed chopped pitted olives (Kalamata, green, stuffed, etc.…)

1/3 cup drained and chopped artichoke hearts

1-tablespoon capers

1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt

Instructions

Spread the cheese loosely into the bottom of an ovenproof dish to a depth of around 1/2 to 3/4 of and inch. Combine the olives, artichokes, capers, and garlic together and spread over the goat cheese.

Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt to taste. Bake uncovered in a 350° oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the top and edges have slightly started to brown and the top is nice and bubbly. Serve immediately with sliced baguette, crackers, or pita.

Giving thanks is a mantra we practice all year-long, but it is a sentiment that bears repeating, especially at this time of year.

We are eternally grateful to our families, our land and livestock (especially those milk producing ladies), our staff, our community and the widespread network of cheese lovers here in the Hudson Valley that make our farm possible by eating and enjoying our goat milk cheeses.

For every piece of cheese that leaves our farm – THANK YOU.

We are grateful to be part of your brunch with friends, your family dinner, that wild cooking experiment, your holiday party, your neighborhood celebration or your midnight snack. We hope this holiday season brings you closer to the people who love and support you, and that we can make that gathering a little sweeter with something yummy to share from our farm.

Still need cheese for Thanksgiving? We are having open hours on the farm Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 10 am to 4 pm. Look for the sign out front and drive past the house and up to the red creamery building. We will have cheese for sale in the viewing room as well as chocolate chevre truffles.

It is damp and cold out there today which made me crave soup for lunch, something rich and creamy. Soup is a staple for us in the winter and I will make two or three different kinds every week.

Gabe (who covered the Beacon Farmer’s Market for us) brought home a gorgeous bunch of spinach from Migliorelli Farms so I thought cream of spinach soup. I poked around the internet until I found a recipe that suited me and what I had in the fridge and pantry and then adapted it to our needs. Besides the spinach, I had fresh onions from Bialas Farms and potatoes from our friend Diana who runs John Lupinksi Farms with her husband. I had made chicken bone broth over the weekend and had a half gallon of that liquid gold. Instead of cream or milk (since the goats are dry now pending births in January), I substituted some of our Canterbury goat cheese (using soft goat cheese instead of cream is an old chef’s trick).

METHOD

1 In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion in butter for 3 minutes or until limp. Add potatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add spinach and cook for 2 to 4 minutes longer until spinach is tender.

2 Working in batches, purée soup mixture in a blender (or use an immersion blender right in pot). Return to saucepan. Crumble in goat cheese, salt and pepper. Whisk well (or use your immersion blender to fully incorporate the goat cheese.)

Edgwick Farm will be bringing to all its markets plain Canterbury soft goat cheese, Marinated Canterbury, Rosemary Fig Canterbury, Moodna goat feta (both in wedges and crumbles), Sackett Ridge goat cheddar, Ri (goat)ta and three types of ripe bloomy rinds: Firthcliffe (ash), Aleck Meadow (herbs de provence) and Idlewild (plain). This is the last week for Strawberry Canterbury. Remember to grab an ice cold chocolate goat milk to sip while you are shopping at the market.

We will have our fresh Canterbury goat cheese, Marinated Canterbury, Rosemary Fig Canterbury, Moodna goat feta (2014), Sackett Ridge goat cheddar, our very special whole goat milk Ri(goat)ta as well as a few bloomies: Firthcliffe and Aleck Meadow (Idlewild has sold out). There are bloomies ripening that should be ready for some of the markets later in the week. We only have a handful of 2013 crumbled feta and these will likely sell out at Cornwall on Wednesday. The weekend markets will have a special treat because we are picking up freshly made strawberry jam from Luna Grown and we will be assembling the first Canterbury and jam pairing with it. Yum! We will keep you posted on Facebook.

It is that time of the month when the forces converge and we have three farmer’s markets and four tours on one weekend. Hello third weekend in March!

On Saturday, Talitha’s son, Gabe will be at the indoor winter farmer’s Market in Cornwall. It is held in St. John’s Church at 66 Clinton St, Cornwall, NY 12518 from 11 am to 3 pm. The market boast 8 to 10 vendors with all sorts of goodies: jam, pies, fresh greens, soap, etc. and of course, our goat cheese. The church staff sells soup, scones and coffee that can be consumed at tables at the market.

Also on Saturday, Talitha will be outdoors from 10 am to noon at the Ringwood Farmer’s Market in the Ringwood, NJ Park n Ride next to the Ringwood Library. This is a once a month treat until late May so come get your cheese! E-mail special orders to edgwickfarm@gmail.com.

On Sunday, Talitha’s son Daniel will be at the indoor Beacon Winter Farmer’s Market in the Scenic Hudson River House from 11 am to 3 pm.

To all three markets, we will be bringing fresh Canterbury goat cheese, Marinated Canterbury, Rosemary Fig Canterbury, Moodna feta, Sackett Ridge hard cheese and the last very tiny bit of Funny Child, our ale washed goat tomme. This is it on the Funny Child and it won’t return until June so don’t miss out on this fantastic artisan cheese!

However, as a special, and to give you all something different to do with all this blasted winter weather (i.e. cook and try out some new recipes), we are selling 4 ounces of crumbled feta for $4. Check out a recipe list here:

Our upcoming weekend tours are just about fully booked. Check our Facebook page or e-mail us for availability. Families coming on these tours will get to meet all the growing babies born in January and February! Cara, our herd manager gives the guided tours and Big Dan will be doing the cheese tastings and milk tastings. Don’t miss out – the tours end April 30th. Book yours today!

Have you ever thought about keeping bees? We are offering a bee boot camp this April with hands on experience with the bees. Check it out at: